Al Qaeda's first English website suffers technical glitches

WASHINGTON: Al Qaeda's first English website suffered an inauspicious launch on Thursday with glitches making only the first three of the 67 pages legible.

According to the New York Post, the online version of first English magazine called "Inspire," is designed to encourage would-be terrorists into acts of violence.

The first edition of the magazine, published by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, includes an article by Awlaki entitled 'May our souls be sacrificed for you', and features such as "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom."

US authorities have said that Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical US born cleric living in Yemen, is thought to be behind the publication, and the online sermons, given in English, have already inspired several terrorist plots in America.

"Until now, al Qaeda has relied on Arabic websites to carry its message, but the new magazine was intended to build on recent success in the radicalization of Western citizens," Bruce Riedel, a Brookings Institution scholar and former CIA officer, said.

"It is clearly intended for the aspiring jihadist in the US or UK who may be the next Fort Hood murderer or Times Square bomber," he added.

Awlaki, the 39-year-old propagandist is believed to have inspired three of the 9/11 hijackers; the perpetrator of the Fort Hood massacre last year; the Christmas Day bomber and the failed Times Square bomber.